His Most Beautiful Secret
by Made of Lilies
Summary: She was my secret. My beautiful little secret. And suddenly my heart was beating her name. (Snape/OC, set during Order of The Phoenix) WARNING: This work is based on a Teacher/Student relationship. Please enjoy at your own discretion. Thank you!
1. An Offer To Consider

_I fell in love with her, because in her own special way, she was just as broken as I was. She was an angel, but her white wings were dirty, her halo full of cracks. She was a gorgeous ruin, an elegant tragedy. She was the loveliest of flowers, beautiful yet so fragile it was heartbreaking. And I didn't deserve her, I've always known that. I did not deserve her caresses, her kisses, her light, her love. No, I deserved none of that._

* * *

I started working on my papers for the next class; it would be long before any of these knuckleheads were finished with their tests. Luckily, no one dared make the faintest of noises, let alone attempt to cheat in his classroom. It was all a routine, a painfully slow and withering routine that I had come to accept. They would all finish by the end of the class, hand over their tests that I would unfortunately have to correct afterwards and as always, most of the Ravenclaws would do relatively well and the Hufflepuffs, well the Hufflepuffs would do mediocre. That was what they were after all, pathetically mediocre.

So I simply continued with my task, writing word after word until my hands were sore from all the writing and my fingers smudged with ink. Suddenly, a Hufflepuff rose from her seat and slowly walked up to my desk. Sure that she wished to ask some ridiculous question, I didn't even bother to raise my head and instead waited for her to speak. But the girl remained silent, handing me her notebook gingerly as if she expected me to bite if she approached any further. _Silly girl._

Curious, I did her the favor of raising my gaze to meet hers but yet again she didn't utter a word as she held the notebook in her dainty fingers. I raised an eyebrow at her, surely she could not be finished. I personally made sure the test would be close to impossible to answer, Felix Felicis was a delicate matter to handle. Yet here she was handing me her paper whilst everyone else was struggling.

"Are you done, Miss Bellerose?" I spoke calmly, but apparently my tone was not enough to reassure her I had no intention of harming her. _Silly, silly girl._ She was still standing there like a lamb awaiting slaughter.

"Yes, professor." she finally spoke up. Her voice was a sweet, melodic sound still but I couldn't help but notice the hint of fear in her few words. Merlin, was she that afraid of me?

"This soon? You still have a lot of time in case you wish to revisit your answers."

"There is no need, sir. Thank you." she answered me with unexpected confidence and smiled at me sweetly. How strange a girl, a few moments ago she was trembling in my very presence and now she was smiling at me, brightly enough to light up the darkness of my classroom. How strange indeed.

"Good then. You may return to your seat." I suddenly found myself at loss of words, why I did not know. It was something I could only describe as a daze, an odd feeling that fogged my mind. She flashed me one last smile, before returning to her seat with small, silent steps only such a petite creature could ever make.

I found it hard to concentrate on my work after that, no matter how hard I tried so instead I decided to correct her paper. I stole a few glances towards her as she opened her textbook. Why was I so surprised she finished early anyways? And of course, her paper was excellent as always. The youngest Bellerose girl excelled in my class, always knowing the correct answer.

No, she was nothing like that annoying know-it-all Granger, of course. That would be insufferable. Miss Bellerose's only flaw would be that she cared too much. She was soft and let people push her around far too easily. It wouldn't be long until everyone discovered that fatal flaw and benefited from her weakness. But at the end of the day, she was still a Hufflepuff, what would you expect?

* * *

Soon I dismissed the class after they were all finished, relieved that there would be no more lessons for the day. But to my dismay, a knock on the classroom door suggested I was not as alone as I thought.

I scoffed, "You may come in." I continued collecting my books.

"Professor Snape? I'm sorry, am I bothering sir?" the girl walked in with her typical youthful, and innocent air and the room lightened up once again.

"Is there something I could assist you with, Miss Bellerose?" I allowed my tone to relax, for some reason I did not find her presence as unpleasant as that of any other student.

That smile appeared on her lips again - Merlin, why was this girl always smiling? It made me uneasy to say the least, people that were so bright always did. Perhaps I even envied her; her sweetness and light were a sign of happiness. A happiness I would never have.

"May I ask you something, sir?" her voice was barely above a whisper, but a faint smile still played on her lips.

"Go on, Miss Bellerose."

Regarding my rather stiff tone, her gaze fell to the floor and she locked her eyes there, too nervous to meet mine. "Do you perhaps...erm...find yourself in need of an assistant?" she finished with a smile.

"I beg your pardon?" I must have heard wrong. Was she truly asking me this? Why on earth would this young lady ever wish to be my assistant? Surely this was some kind of joke.

"Well sir, I have been thinking about taking an apprenticeship for quite some time now."

Skeptical, I decided to believe her words. She seemed honest enough anyways. Perhaps I could - no, it wouldn't be needed, the girl was being truthful, I did not have to read her thoughts to see that. But that did not answer my question as to why she would ever ask me. "I am sure plenty of the other professors in this school would gladly take you as their apprentice. A good student is always valued, Miss Bellerose. And from what I know, you seem to be on good terms with everyone."

"Yes, that is true sir. But you see I do not hold the same interest for every class. Potions has always been one of my favorites." she insisted.

"And what would be your other favorites?" I raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"Herbology is a great love of mine and divination, perhaps." she answered plainly.

I rose from my seat and walked around my desk, using the hard edge to support my back. "Then why not turn to Professor Sprout?" It certainly made more sense than asking me for such thing.

She giggled, a girlish sound yet it was not nearly as annoying as any other girl's. "I wish I could sir, but I fear the position is already taken by another student in the 7th."

"What about Professor Trelawney then? Is the position taken there as well?"

"No, sir. But with Professor Firenze being in charge of half of the classes, her duties are not nearly enough to ask of an assistant. Besides, divination is not a core class." she finished yet with an anxious, yet hopeful grin.

"I see." I dragged my feet back around the desk and took my seat. After a few seconds of thought, I cleared my voice and turned my gaze back at the girl. "Well Miss Bellerose, I will be honest with you. I had never considered the possibility of having an apprentice, and I am most certainly not in need of one." I could see the girl's face dropping at my words. "But I will give it some consideration. You should go now, your friends will be waiting for you."

"Thank you, sir." she soon disappeared after giving me the warmest smile I received in too long a time.


	2. Trial and Error

Once I dismissed the class, I immediately called out for the girl. Thankfully, she had given me quite a few days to consider her request and after some severe thought, I had made up my mind.

"Miss Bellerose? Could I have a word with you?" I eyed her as the rest of the students collected their things and quickly emptied the classroom. She turned to meet my gaze immediately. Her friend almost glared at me, but at Miss Bellerose's nod, she too left the classroom gingerly.

"Professor? I assume you have made your decision." her voice cracked a little with what I could only interpret as anticipation.

Instead of answering her right away, I lingered a little and walked around my desk instead. Finally, I did her the favor. "Yes, indeed I have. You see Miss Bellerose, as I have informed you before, I am in need of no assistant," her face dropped at my choice of words, "- **but** after some thorough consideration, I have decided that perhaps this venture could prove successful." I finished triumphantly and the young lady jumped with such unexpected joy that I could not help but wonder what she found so joyful.

"Is that a yes, sir?" her brown eyes lit up and a tiny quirk played on her rosy red lips.

I cleared my throat and the tension rose with every moment I delayed my answer, "It is." I spared her agony and answered clearly.

She let out a nervous giggle, followed by a huge smile as she started babbling, "Oh sir, you have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you so much! I promise you I will do my best to prove worthy of your kindness!" I laughed internally at her words. Kindness? Me? _Silly, silly girl._

I ended her celebration with my stoicism. "But you must know there will be certain demands you must meet. The time during which you shall assist me will be extracurricular, meaning that it would take a large proportion of your free time. It is a demanding position and may even prove to be unpleasantly time-consuming. What other hobbies you might entertain, I'm afraid they must be relegated to second place in your priorities. And no matter what, I trust that you will be obedient and follow my instructions and orders. Is that clear?" she nodded firmly at my every word.

"Very well, I'm glad we have reached an understanding. Hopefully, you will live up to my expectations. I trust you to honor your house and yourself by showing the hard work and determination you Hufflepuffs take pride in. We shall begin tomorrow evening." I allowed her time to take in my words and judging from the look on her face, she had no opposition.

"Oh yes, sir! I hope so too."

* * *

After the end of the school day, I resigned to my office and was surprised enough to see my new apprentice waiting for me inside. Unaware of my presence, she continued her pacing in front of the many shelves, curiously gazing at the many ingredients. Uneasy by her curiosity, I cleared my voice to get her attention.

She jumped, whipping her head around and once again our eyes met. I couldn't help but notice how haunting her eyes were, even under the dim lightning of the dungeons, it reminded him of sweet chocolate. The chocolate that melts at the slightest bit of the heat from love, or happiness. Specks of gold hid inside those brown orbs and they shone like an entire universe was lost within them.

"Miss Bellerose," I broke the silence between us, "-I see you are right on time. Good, promptness is something I value."

I took careful steps towards where the girl stood, glancing at the shelves she was so carefully examining before.

"Today we shall test your abilities. Apart from your excellent performances in class, I'd like to see the full extent of your abilities in the field." she smiled at me and nodded, encouraging me to continue. "You...will be making a Volubilis potion. You may consult your textbook, of course. Everything you need, you will find here. You may take your time."

As she inspected the stock in every shelf, I simply lay back on my chair and followed her every move. She did not even bother to open her textbook, instead she quickly moved to collect all the ingredients and got to her task. She seemed to be confident enough as to what she was doing and worked with such passion she almost reminded me in my very youth. When the world of potions was finally revealed to me and I all I could see was opportunity and room for improvement.

Roughly forty minutes passed, she had already mixed the initial ingredients and added honeywater until the liquid turned pink. Now it was time to add the mint sprigs after heating the mixture again.

"Make sure it's only the tip of the stems that you add." I walked up behind her and although my voice surprised her, she remained focus and continued. I hovered over her petite frame, watching as she followed the necessary steps. Her moves were graceful and very steady; she seemed to know precisely what she was doing.

As I stood so close to her, a sweet aroma tingled my nostrils and I breathed in, taking in her scent. Her curly locks emitted the most wonderful smell; a mixture of many flowers I could not identify, but the strongest one was some sort of chamomile oil. It made me pleasantly dizzy.

I was quickly pulled out of my gaze by Miss Bellerose's abrupt turn to face me with a huge grin on her face. Confused, I glanced back at the potion. Its color was perfect, a pleasant yellow and it released quite a few sparks, just like it was supposed to.

Dumbfounded, I turned my gaze back at the girl, "Well Miss Bellerose, I must say I'm impressed. Not only have you memorized the recipe, but you have succeeded. The color seems to be precise. Very well done indeed." I almost allowed myself to smile back at her. _Almost._

"Oh thank you Professor!" she beamed at me, but then immediately regained control over her enthusiasm, nervously biting on her bottom lip.

"That will be it for today. I expect you to come back tomorrow, we have a lot to tend to." I dismissed her and took a seat on my familiar place, expecting her to leave.

She allowed herself to smile one last time and thanked me sweetly. "Of course, sir. Goodnight." she disappeared inside the dungeons' corridors, leaving me alone inside my office which for the very first time, seemed even gloomier now that she had left.

* * *

 **A/N:** I just wanted to say I appreciate all of you guys' support sooo much and the love you show my work is priceless! I absolutely adore Snape and I wanted to give him a happy ending so desperately I just couldn't resist the temptation of writing about him. I hope you all enjoyed it, I'll upload really soon. Please please please let me know what you think by leaving a review, because it helps me improve and personally I just love hearing your feedback!


	3. A Foggy Mind

I watched as she focused on her own task, heating up the liquid and then proceeding to prepare the rest of the ingredients. I should be tending to my own potion, but it was beyond my control. She had hastily caught her hair in a loose braid to keep it away from her face, but her strawberry locks were now coming apart so slowly that it was painfully distracting.

Unaware of my glances towards her, she kept her gaze locked on the potion, eyes the mesmerizing color of russet brown reflecting the bright pink color of the mixture before her. We spent our evenings like this, locked up in the tiny space I called my office, fussing over new recipes. There was always deathly silence, only filled with the brewing noises and the creaks of the old, wooden floor.

After watching her for a while, I noticed she was struggling with cutting the pieces of knotgrass she would have to add soon. I approached her carefully and after inspecting her struggle, I placed a hand above her own and moved them both in perfect sync with delicate, small moves.

As we made contact, she jumped a little at my gesture but did not flinch or pull away at my own surprise. It was a weird sensation, her meringue white skin was so smooth and soft, it made me shiver and Merlin, did it feel wrong to touch her with my rough hands, but at the same time it felt so right - just like everything else when I was around her.

When I was finished with the task, I freed her tiny hand and took a step back to watch her as she added the ingredient into the mixture. Smoke started coming out of the cauldron, marking another big success of hers and before I knew it, I was smiling. I did not even think about; like my muscles had a mind of their own.

I was just as surprised as she was at my reaction, quickly allowing my face to return to my usual stoic expression and her smile faded too, her face almost dropping in disappointment I could not quite comprehend.

For the first time in all my years as a teacher, I found myself panicking. "You can go now, Miss Bellerose. I can finish up by myself." I dismissed her immediately.

She opened her mouth to object, but hesitated. Instead, she followed my orders and left silently.

My mind still felt foggy, heavy with confusion. What was happening to me? This must have been the effect of some spell or potion even. What else could it possibly be? I could recognize the effects.


End file.
